FACTS AND FIGURES With a turnover of £12m, the Fleet
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Services division of Manchester City Council is a substantial operation. Its most recent fleet acquisition was a pair of leased Volvo FM12 8x4s, which were delivered in November 2002. In all, Fleet Services looks after 1,120 vans and 280 trucks; the trucks are plated at a maximum of 32 tonnes. Ernie Spencer's staff procure and maintain the vehicles, although they are driven by the staff of the city's various departments. Tradesmen such as plumbers and electricians drive their own council vans, but larger vehicles such as skip loaders are operated by specialist drivers.
The City Council's Highways Department has its own printshop, which is responsible for adorning road signs and the trucks and vans; its personnel even printed the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games logo on the vehicles. "They a nice job in there," asserts Spencer.
Pr Although the Greater Manchester conurbation has a population of 2.5 million, Manchester itself has 430,000 citizens. Interestingly, Manchester is odd -shaped: It is 15 miles wide and four miles deep.